Vistas lose another close one in Omaha

June 23, 2013

OMAHA, Neb. - The Minot Vistas finished their five-game stint in Omaha with a 6-4 loss to host Creighton Prep on Saturday.

Minot (8-7) leaves the Decker Sports College World Series Tournament winless and resumes state play with a single game against Mandan at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Corbett Field.

Minot coach Todd Larson expected the Omaha trip to be the toughest five games of the season. He described the week as frustrating, but promising at the same time.

"We gained the confidence that we can play against the upper-level teams in the Midwest," Larson said.

The Vistas lost one-run games to New Brighton - one of the top teams in Minnesota - and Sioux Falls (S.D.). Two other losses came by four-run deficits.

Creighton Prep (25-2) took a 5-1 lead out of the fourth inning. The Vistas tightened the gap with three runs in the fifth, but the host team added an insurance run in the bottom half.

Demitry Zafra (2-3) gave up five runs on six hits, but just two earned runs as the Vistas committed three errors. Zafra pitched four innings before being relieved by Shawn Danielson.

"Seems like we're getting down early in games," Larson said. "In the second inning, it looked like a snowball fight out there with a couple errors."

The Vistas saw College World Series games on Thursday and Friday nights and made a visit to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Larson said some of the Vistas enjoyed sitting in front-row seats behind the plate at the CWS. Players waited for openings in the prime seating to move down for closer views of college baseball's top teams.

Larson's son, Grant, returned to the lineup Saturday after nursing an injured hand. The first-year pitcher was drilled by a hit Thursday. Larson said the team is banged up, but has no serious injuries.